THROWING TANTRUMS: The highest debut this week is probably no surprise, as the new single release from Fitz and the Tantrums, "Fool", debuts at #47. This is a stand-alone single release for the summer, and does not appear (yet) on an album. This comes after their eponymous third album produced four #1 tracks off of it, including "Get Right Back" which drops 8-14 this week. The band, fronted by Michael Fitzpatrick, is, of course, the most successful band in my blog's history, with eleven #1's and 16-for-16 in top 20 appearances on SNS, with 15 of those going top 10. The last album produced their biggest pop hit to date, "HandClap" which peaked at #57 on the Billboard Hot 100. And finally, the band has had at least one song on my SNS 100 every week since February 2013.
Having said all that, "Fool" continues a trend that started on the last album: The band has just about sold off their vintage soul trappings for a more contemporary hip-hop/pop approach, and "Fool" delves even more into that territory. And to be honest, in spite of the high debut, it concerns me a bit. Despite their change in direction, what saved the prior album was the soul in Fitzpatrick's voice which somehow was able to cut through the contemporary electronic-oriented backing. However on the new single, even Fitzpatrick's voice seems tohave been electronically altered. Forget any ties to the soulful past, this is pretty much contemporary pop with the soul removed. In fact, of their last album, one critic, Joe Hemmerling noted that this is "a product of contemporary market forces and a depressing relic of an era of the music industry best forgotten".
So, with that sort of information, how will it do on my SNS chart? Given it's high debut, it's probably a shoo in to make it their 17th top 20 here. Altered or not, Fitz's voice is what it is and perhaps it has ever so slightly, reminded me of their retro-soul period. I need to listen a few more times to really decide if I will like this. If you look at the comments on the video on YouTube, there are the detractors who don't like this new direction, while defenders state that every band "can't stand still". As we've seen with Adele, and most recently Foster the People, (whose official first single from their new album, "Doing for the Money" is pretty much contemporary hip-hop), and even acts like The Raveonettes, bands try to move towards the mainstream to gain acceptance. But for me, it's a shame that the mainstream, which has been stuck in a quagmire for twenty years now, can't alter its banal style of music it supports to these new acts. Some fresh stuff is out there, but it just gets thrown by the wayside. "Fool" is an okay song right now, but in future weeks I'll decide if it grows on me, or whether I get sick of it. And it should also be interesting to see how it does on the pop charts, as the Foster the People's aptly-named single still hasn't made the pop charts either.
The next two debuts are those added from the recent geocaching walk along the Jersey City waterfront that my friend Lynzie listened to: Saint Motel's "Sweet Talk" and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness' "Walking In My Sleep". In both cases, these are not the singles (current or otherwise), but palatable album tracks that should have gotten the airplay, similar to FTP's "SHC". Alvvays also debuts with "In Undertow"; the Canadian Indie popper had a top 20 SNS hit in 2015 with "Archie Marry Me"; The Killers' "The Man", their first non-Christmas single since 2013's 'Miss Atomic Bomb" reached #31. Leader Brandon Flowers had a solo #6 SNS hit in 2015 with "I Can Change", reaching #6 that year. Danny L Harle is another producer/DJ artist debuting, in the vein of Zedd or Calvin Harris, his song "Heavy Eyelids" features Jersey girl Phoebe Ryan.
And speaking of Phoebe Ryan, isn't it time to for people to stop just getting their ankles wet and jump completely in and make this talent a major star already?
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
June 25 / July
2, 2017
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 1 | NUMBER ONE:
"Malibu"●
(Single Only)
(3 weeks at #1)
|
6 |
| 2 | 2 | Nick Waterhouse - It's Time | 5 |
| 3 | 3 | Foster the People - SHC | 6 |
| 4 | 4 | Keith Urban f. Carrie Underwood - The Fighter● | 17 |
| 5 | 5 | LP - Lost on You | 12 |
| 6 | 7 | The Hounds of Winter - I Get You | 9 |
| 7 | 6 | Thomas Rhett - Star of the Show | 11 |
| 8 | 10 | Little Steven - Soulfire | 8 |
| 9 | 9 | Kings of Leon - Reverend | 11 |
| 10 | 21 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
"Shine on Me"
Album: Waiting On A Song
|
4 |
| 11 | 12 | The Big Takeover - Love Understands | 10 |
| 12 | 11 | The Palms - Push Off● | 17 |
| 13 | 14 | Alison Ireheta and Halo Circus - Band-Aid | 6 |
| 14 | 8 | Fitz and the Tantrums - Get Right Back● | 14 |
| 15 | 15 | Parquet Courts - Human Performance | 15 |
| 16 | 26 | Michelle Branch - Hopeless Romantic | 5 |
| 17 | 13 | Fleet Foxes - Third of May /Odargahara | 13 |
| 18 | 18 | Twenty-One Pilots - HeavyDirtySoul | 11 |
| 19 | 16 | K.Flay - High Enough | 13 |
| 20 | 20 | Royal Bangs - Octagon | 14 |
Tremors:
101. Chris Stapleton, "Either Way"
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.
● Songs
with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲ Songs with 50 or more
plays on my iPod.
The “Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100” is a list
of current and recent song playlist which I am listening to.
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